§ 3.44 p.m.
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I should like to repeat a Statement being made in another place by my right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture on the Annual Review of Agriculture. The Statement is as follows:
"The Review shows that the general condition of the industry is good. Aggregate income, productivity, and investment have all risen. For some commodities market prices rather than the guarantees have become the main determinant of farmers' returns and the cost of direct support has fallen. On the other hand, the industry is faced with an exceptionally severe rise in costs.
"The Review has taken place in the new context of our membership of the European Economic Community and we have extended the scope of our discussions with the Farmers' Unions accordingly. We have confirmed with the Commission that the determinations made in the light of the Review conform with Article 54 of the Act of Accession.
"The determinations have also had to pay full regard to the Government's counter-inflation policies. In making our decisions, we have concentrated on the implications for consumer prices. In this connection, the continuing paramount need is to maintain expansion of home output of food. In general this is the most effective way to offset high prices brought about by world shortages. The determinations are fully consistent with our counter-inflation policies. The industry is being asked to 748 set higher productivity against very much increased costs.
"There will be no immediate effect on consumer prices. As the cost increases this year show, farmers are very much involved in the fight against inflation. Their leaders recognise this. We are looking to the industry to make a positive contribution by absorbing a substantial part of their costs while continuing the expansion that is now under way.
"The main features of the determinations are as follows:
Guaranteed prices will be increased
"The guaranteed price of eggs is left unchanged. The calf subsidy will be reduced to £8.50 a head for steers and £6.50 a head for heifers. The basic 30 per cent. rate of grant under the Farm Capital Grant Scheme will be reduced to 20 per cent., but the higher rates of grant for certain special purposes—including drainage and benefits to hill land—will remain unchanged.
- —for wheat by £2.30 to £36.70 per ton;
- —for barley by £2.00 to £33.20 per ton;
- —for oats by £1.80 to £32.00 per ton;
- —for potatoes by 45p to £17.00 per ton;
- —for sugar beet by 26p per ton; the basis for the guarantee is being changed and the increase results in a guaranteed price of £6.97 per ton, roughly equivalent to £8.26 on the old basis;
- —for fat sheep by 2.2p to 26.5p per lb.;
- —for fat pigs by 3p which, after allowing for feed adjustments, gives a new basic guaranteed price of £3.27 per score;
- —for milk by 1.5p to 24.6p per gallon; the Northern Ireland standard quantity will be raised by 22 million gallons to 142 million gallons; and
- —for wool by 2p to 25p per lb.
"A White Paper giving the basic data bearing on the Review is being 749 published to-day. This does not include, as previously, the schedule of the determinations which I have just announced. That will be circulated, together with a detailed note of changes in the guarantee arrangements, in the OFFICIAL REPORT, and copies
| DETERMINATIONS FOR 1973–74 | |||
| Guarantee levels for 1972–73 | Guarantee levels for 1973–74 | ||
| Commodity or production grant | As determined in March 1972 after the Annual Review 1972 | Change from col.(2) | As determined after the Annual Review 1973 |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) |
| Guaranteed prices | |||
| Wheat (per ton) | £34.40 | +£2.30 | £36.70 |
| Barley (per ton) | £31.20 | +£2.00 | £33.20 |
| Oats (per ton) | £30.20 | +£1.80 | £32.00 |
| Potatoes (per ton) | £16.55 | +45p | £17.00 |
| Sugar beet (per ton) | £8.00 | +26p | £6.97 |
| equivalent to £6.71 on the new basis | |||
| Fat sheep and lambs (per lb. estimated dressed carcase weight). | 24.3p | +2.2p | 26.5p |
| Fat pigs (per score deadweight) | £2.81 | +3p | £3.27 |
| related to a feed price of £1.96 per cwt. | related to a feed price of £2.53 per cwt. | ||
| On the basis of the current feed price this is equivalent to £3.24 | |||
| Milk (per gallon) | 23.1p | +1.5p | 24.6p |
| Eggs—hen (per dozen) | 160p | no change | 16.0p |
| Eggs—duck (per dozen) | 15.5p | no change | 15.5p |
| Wool (per lb.) | 23.0p | +2p | 25.0p |
| Production grant | |||
| Calf subsidy— | |||
| per eligible steer | £11.25 | -£2.75 | £8.50 |
| per eligible heifer | £900 | -£2.50 | £6.50 |
§ The basic rate of grant under the Farm Capital Grant Scheme is being reduced from 30 per cent to 20 per cent. The change will apply to all new applications as from the day after the announcement